Friday, May 30, 2014

General Shinseki Resigns Over VA Flap

Image from source, MSN

I haven't written about the VA troubles much lately, mostly because I've been busy, but also because of my own difficulty in coming up with a defined opinion. Like the myriad troubles over many years in this scandal, It's hard to pin down exactly how I feel.

Troubles at the VA with waiting lists and other difficulties go back over a decade (in fact, over pretty much the entire history of the organization, as Jon Stewart famously showed). When only 19% of people polled laid the blame at President Obama's feet, I was pleasantly surprised, since everything is his fault and "a scandal" in they eyes of FOX "News" and Right Wing World. While it's true that the president promised to do something about the problems, it's also true that the problems didn't originate with him, nor are particularly his fault. Still, I wish he had followed through on those promises.

See? It's hard to give an opinion on something where there isn't a clearer "villain." Some do of course, as the usual suspects have acted as though this scandal is new, when in fact it is very old. Truthfully, I'd like to get past the noise, and just have somebody fix the problems. And apparently, General Eric Shinseki is not that guy. So, kudos to the administration for pulling that particular plug. Might I suggest appointing Jon Soltz or Paul Rieckhoff in at least an advisory role?

[Excerpt]Shinseki resigns amid veterans' health care uproarVeterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki apologized in public and then resigned in the privacy of the White House on Friday, driven from office by a mushrooming scandal over the agency's health care system that serves millions of the nation's former warriors. . .